Africa is currently confronting several high-burden public health emergencies, including widespread cholera outbreaks, rising Mpox infections, and ongoing viral haemorrhagic fever events. These challenges come at a time when the continent is receiving significant global financing aimed at strengthening pandemic preparedness and response systems.

Prof. Yap Boum, Incident Manager for Health Emergencies at the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), highlighted these developments during the agency’s virtual weekly press briefing on Friday. While describing Africa as a “high-threat environment,” Boum commended governments and development partners for aligning with the Africa Health Security and Sovereignty (AHSS) agenda.

According to him, “progress is only possible when we deliver at scale and keep Africa’s people at the centre of our work.”

Boum announced that Africa secured $234 million, representing 47% of all approved funds under the Pandemic Fund’s Third Call for Proposals, during the Board Meeting held in Kigali. In addition, Africa CDC obtained another $40 million to support cross-border surveillance, regional coordination, and community-level monitoring in high-risk countries. Beneficiary countries include Senegal, Cameroon, South Sudan, Angola, Zimbabwe, Somalia, and Malawi.

On the current disease outbreaks, Boum revealed that Africa recorded 308,935 cholera cases and 7,131 deaths in 2025 — a sharp rise compared to previous years. Five countries — South Sudan, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola, and Nigeria — accounted for nearly 88% of all reported cholera infections. Angola, Kenya, Mozambique, and Burundi also witnessed significant spikes between epidemiological weeks 41 and 46, with Angola alone reporting over 34,000 cases and 877 deaths.

The Mpox outbreak also remains widespread, with the continent documenting 132,008 suspected cases and 40,138 confirmed cases in 2025 — more than double the 2024 figures. While Sierra Leone has achieved a 99% decline, recording 31 days without a new confirmed case, Liberia continues to drive recent increases. A new Mpox case was also confirmed in Mali this week, triggering enhanced surveillance and laboratory activation.

Ethiopia is simultaneously managing an outbreak of Marburg Virus Disease (MVD) in Jinka town, where 12 confirmed cases and seven deaths have been recorded. Active case searching and contact tracing are ongoing.